If you can found a CHARITY what would it be? what would it do?
 

My wife and I are thinking of starting a free school here in the Philippines to help children from squatter families. My goal is to give them a free education from elementary to college and have foreign employers petition them. Hopefully, they can go abroad and help their families up and out of poverty. That's what happened to my mother's family in the early 70s. She and my aunt came to the US and petitioned her whole family. Now, my aunts and uncles have their own houses and live a decent comfortable life. They used to be extremely poor (ie., 1 cup of rice a day poor. As in living in a garage that floods 1/2 the year poor). As for myself, my parents' experience with poverty made them value education so they pushed me to finish college and grad school.

My mother instilled in me a strong UTANG NG LOOB (debt of obligation--if someone is kind to you and helps you out, you repay them many times over) I want to repay that good fortune by helping poor families here help themselves through a free school that opens up a world of new possibilities for people. I used to think my mom's stories of poverty and hardship were just embellished tales used to hype a moral... When I first visited the Philippines after 21 years in the US in 2000, I saw first hand that her stories were real. 4 year olds begging on the street or selling sampaguita flowers for a few measly bucks under a red hot sun really gets to me. I could see my own Mom and her relatives doing the same if they didn't take their opportunities back in the 70s. So after I moved back in 2003, I've always had this idea of a charity. My wife and I are probably going to fund it with our own funds since we ourselves believe that PRIVATE charity is what works best.

What kind of charities would you like to start and what are your reasons for your plans?

Share your thoughts and goals :)

that's great to hear. I heard education for kids is really messed up there. I wish you the best.

Always good to do something to help out those who need it

I setup an auto withdrawal every month for feed the children organization, I just hope it goes to the kids. Good stuff gene

I read the thread title and was immediately thinking of free education.
Amazing that you and your wife are doing it.

If there was a way to teach people to think for themselves, to accept what others think as just ideas and not hold so tight to beliefs, that'd be something I'd want to start. However, your's in more realistic and very much needed in this world.

Charities like that one would most likely succeed since it won't leave those recepient relying for help on their entire life. On ce they finish studying, they can now work and earn a living for themselves. Helping their families and other people get out of that poverty level.
Better than giving them daily supply of food.

I agree. You create more problems creating dependency. Education weeds out those who wish to help themselves (for the most part). The condition of the public school system here in the Philippines is really deplorable.

Right on, Simon. :thumbsup

True. Helping people to help themselves is way better than trapping people into dependency. Part of the reason the Philippines is so wracked by poverty is that the government maintains poor people's dependency instead of providing an infrastructure where they can help themselves.

Sounds great.

Weve financially adopted a Girl in the Philipinnes. Sending her some nice cash already got some cool letters and pics.

Its good to see someone benefits from that and actually has a chance getting a life, study and make some cash to break the circle of poverty.

Right on, man! Helping her help her herself through education is the right way to 'sponsor'.

$5. I live in Mexico, and I met the wife of a guy that has been trying to get him out of jain for 5 years.

He wanted to help the kids here, because the school system is so bad. He was a retired teacher, speaks spanish, and started helping out at the local school. One day, the cops show up at his house, and arrest him. They accused him of molesting on of the girls in the class. He had 13 people show up at the trial that gave swore before the court that he was with them the time that he was accused of doing the deed. They even had photos of him. 3 of the people that were witnesses to where he was were local mexican citizens. The judge gave him 30 years!

I would really re think your idea.

Damn, that's a raw story. I don't really plan to spend much time re teaching or being with the students but getting the school going and keeping an eye on the people running the school--administrators. I'm not much of a teacher so I'd rather focus on being on the board of directors and make sure the admins are running the school properly. Regardless, I believe EDUCATION is the best way to help someone help themself.

I'd found a charity that helped people with an awesome work ethic get started in their own business by giving/lending, depending on the situation, them start up capital. I'd also find them mentors so that they were succesful and in turn employ more people.

If I had the money...

I'd setup something for afterschool activities for urban areas. I grew up in the "black" county in Maryland which never got the funding that other lesser populated counties got (though a few people from that county were arrested for embezzelment, thats probably why). I remember my elementary school never having enough money for paper, middle school and up having sparse after school activities and no busses for those who needed them.

No wonder the crime rate is so much higher there and in DC, another 'black' area. In DC some schools couldn't even meet public safety guidelines and were opened extremely late, majority of others no AC, not to mention extremely out of date text books and shoddy looking classes.

Gotta give kids things to do. There'll always be gangbangers but there's still some good people there, don't provide activities and they'll most likely just become another thug.

i would love to be able to save animals, it sickens me when defenseless animals are treated badly, pushed out of their lands, beaten, tortured, killed etc

for food i think there are humane ways of killing them.......animals being food will never end so least we can do is humanely kill them

that is fucking great man. i wish you all the luck with that, it's nice to see someone with a meaningful idea and a will to help their community.

that's a ahrd question though. since i have had to good fortune to lead a rather sheltered life in suburbia i don't have neccesarily a specific thing i could pick. there are so many fucked up things going on in the world it's hard to know where start.

high up on my list though would be something with africa. out of all the places in the world they seem to be the most neglected. maybe the best thing to do would be to start some sort of free school. i shudder to think of people misappropriating charity money, and i think investing in education would be a good way to help protect from that.

being able to read, learn, write, and communicate are really priceless things.

If given the chance, I would probably do the same thing. Here in the Philippines, there are a lot of people who doesn't had the chance to go to school. Some of the children here even beg or if not, working already at an early age for them to go to school. Knowing that there are a lot of intelligent children around but doesn't have the chance too. I would like to help them in my own way so that they won't go to waste.

It is true. You gotta give the people there the opportunity to create a better future for themselves. Education always works. More money better opportunities better future. Weve done this for a few months now and its already showing improvement.

It'd be a charity that deals with kids who have been sexually abused. It's unfortunate to see how often these kids don't get the help they need.

Right now there is a HUGE need for a charity to be established (and one that is COORDINATED correctly) for the poor Gulf Coast. Their miseries are just beginning!

that's a good one dude. i have watched a show about those kids that had been abused by their parents and it really made me sad. :(